I NEED A ANSWER FROM A PRO!!

[Plankton]

hi there i have done two lager kits. both coopers, a cerveza and a can blonde and followed the instructions to the letter. the results have been drinkable but im getting what i call a homebrew taste. it has a odd TWANG to it., quite flowery i suppose. how or can i even cure this. if this is how home brew always tastes then im gonna have to knock this home brew stuff on the head, i really want to brew something nice too.
i am now fermenting a milestones lions pride. a two can, no added brewing sugar session ale. it is on day 5 out of 6 then instructions say its ready to bottle but the hydrometer saying 1022 when it should be 1009ish. what should i do?
some onput will be greatly received, steve

 

[Zedilly]

I ain't a pro but I would ignore the instructions and leave it for another week at least.

 

[calumscott]

What he said ^^^^. :thumb:

This might help a bit too - viewtopic.php?f=30&t=24822

 

[bunkerbrewer]

Disclaimer - not a pro. But maybe some helpful thoughts anyway?

First - ignore the kit instructions, it's not ready to bottle after 6 days. Have you read the "OMG" guide? http://thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=24822

Lager can be... tricky. Real lager is very dependant on fermentation temperature, and lager kits are a bit of a compromise. What are your fermentation temperatures?

How long are you leaving your bottles to condition after brewing?

Lots of people on here are brewing beer better than you can get in a pub - stick with it :)

Maybe try an ale kit and see how that turns out?

 

[craigite]

Hang in there.
I think I remember the taste you describe.
I'm sure the two tin kit will be a big bit better.
Keep your fermentation temperature below 21 and keep as constant.

Trust your hydrometer. You can test the hydrometer with plain water, it should read 1.000
Two to three weeks before bottling sounds better. I think the instructions are trying to sound appealing by giving over optimistic time scales.


Each brew and you will learn more. :thumb:

 

[PD]

Lots of variables cause the taste and its confined to the kits, more prevalent with one can but toucans can suffer from it.It has a lot to do with how fresh the concentrate is, and I've been led to believe that a partial cure can be done by boiling up the concentrate before brewing.
Of course a total cure is to do extract brews or all grain ( including BIAB )

I'm sorry...you wanted a Pro....and you got me....

feck me I'm getting slower in my replies !

 

[memit]

Also non-pro, sorry. I just bottled my third kit, first two-can kit, and it took a good three weeks to finish fermenting.

Part of the reason I felt my first batch tasted bad was because I was pouring a lot of sediment out of the bottles...

 

[Duncs]

Another non pro answer coming from me. That twang could be from the chlorine in your water. Try adding 1/4 of a crushed campden tablet in your water before adding the yeast, it'll remove the chlorine. Also get the freshest can that you can, the metallic taste can transfer to the finished beer

 

[Plankton]

hi every one and thanks for some great confidence giving tips. my temps stay about the 22 mark although i only have a heat sticker on the side of my fermentor. should i put the fermentor in thew loft where i can get my colder constant temp? i also use bottled water

 

[Pawlo7671]

Another non pro answer :

Try NEVER EVER EVER brewing to the instructions EVER again.
Keep temp to around 21c
Leave in primary for at least 2 weeks

No more twang !

 

[Plankton]

cheers pawlo, i will regard any instructions as just a very rough guide, but you talk about temps of 21c and atleast two weeks in fermentor. does this go for just largers. or does it include ales, beers, porters,stouts e,t,c

 

[Pawlo7671]

TBH I doubt you have brewed a lager, it's confusing as some manufactures have you believe that you are brewing lager, your not tho ! Lager style beer - yes, actual lager - No
Lagers are brewed with lager yeast, much lower fermentation temps, much longer storage.
The kits you say you brewed come with normal ale yeast so treat it as you would bitter, stout etc, keep temps around 21c or bellow ( not too low tho or you'll stall the yeast ) and they'll be fine.

 

[Plankton]

ok will do! my next brew is going to be another coopers canadian blonbe beer. with my extended knowledge and knew found confidence would changing the dry yeast that comes with for a liquid lager yeast and also adding light dry malt and a brew enhancer help improve my results?

 

[mmaguy41]

What sugar did you add? Try and keep the temp lower if you want a cleaner taste, the coopers mexican cervesa uses a blend of ale and lager yeast i am told so keep it a bit cooler, im not sure about canadian blonde but i brewed that one with 1kg of light dme at about 18-20 and it was lovely.

 

[Pawlo7671]

ok will do! my next brew is going to be another coopers canadian blonbe beer. with my extended knowledge and knew found confidence would changing the dry yeast that comes with for a liquid lager yeast and also adding light dry malt and a brew enhancer help improve my results?

Yeah of course, although I personally think youl be fine with a dry yeast like Nottingham, as long as you rehydrate it.
Use brew enhancer or malt extract, steer clear from table sugar as they're to complex for the yeast to properly metabolise resulting in a fruity of taste, while ok in heavier beers like bitter stout etc its not great in the lighter style beers, brewing sugar ( dextrose ) is fine but remember that other than boost the ABV it does nothing in terms of flavour and even lowers the mouth feel of the beer.

 

[fbsf]

Your best bet yeast-wise would be Safale US-05 - it's an ale yeast which ferments at ale temperatures, but has a very clean taste so suits pale ales and lagers.

I've done coopers kits, and all have turned out well, BUT none of them were ready for bottling before two weeks, and ALL of them (bar the stout) took at least 6 weeks in the bottle before the homebrew twang disappeared and 8 weeks before they were at their best. I've also used the Coopers Beer Kit Enhancer with them instead of table sugar.

I'm now drinking the Cervesa and Australian Pale Ale that I did back in September and June last year respectively, and they taste lovely.

Oh, and finally, I'm not a pro. But I do make some pretty good beers (if my friends and family are to be believed).

 

[ScottM]

Brewing a coopers kit and lagering properly is a lengthy process. Every little helps though. I recently made my first proper lager and its currently lagering inthe fridge in the garage. Its a 3 month process though.

Even just fermenting at lager temps would help. That's a 3 to 4 week ferment though.

I wrote a kit guide a while back. Link is in my signature. That's how I get good results with them.

As said, disregard the instructions. Very generic and very much geared towards selling the time scales, which are not to be followed if you want good results.

 

[rpt]

The twang should go with time. My first kit was a Woodfordes Wherry ale. Although tasty it did have a bit of a twang to it when I first tried it. But that has pretty much gone now. After bottling I left the bottles in the warm for 2 weeks and it was only after a further 4 weeks in the cold that the taste was good. I am sure it will get better still.

So you need patience. Always difficult at the beginning which is why I am trying to brew as much beer as I can so I have plenty to mature. It wasn't hard to save up a lot of bottles over Christmas (mostly drunk by guests!) so I shall keep brewing until they are all full. You need to allow enough time for fermentation (using your hydrometer as a guide), enough for the yeast to clean up, enough for the trub to settle, enough for the bottles to carbonate and enough for the beer to clear and mature.

 

[Plankton]

So basically slow down be patient and clean every thing. Will do!
Whilst I'm here, when im out i drink the comercial beers, carlsberg,peroni,e,t,c. Do people here get results anywhere near that sort of quality from can kit beers? Next challenge for you guys here: myself and three other Mates are about to have a beer making competition! What beer kit do you recommend, including any extra ingredients like malts, yeasts e,t,c REMEMBER I want to win this. We have given ourselves three months.
Cheers guru's,
Steve

 

[bigdave]

I never managed to brew a kit that didn't have that twang.... So I brewed all grain instead. :)